Abram/Abraham is unique and special among those appearing in the Old Testament, because he, his wives, and their sons provide patterns for important events in both the Old and New Testament.  For instance, Abram/Abraham’s sons and their mothers provide an overview of events in spiritual day/age 3 (flood to captivity), day/age 4 (captivity to Jesus), and day/age 5 (church era).

Abram’s first-born son was Ishmael by Hagar the bondwoman/slave from Egypt.  Likewise in day/age 3, the Israelites were slaves in Egypt.  Hagar went to the Promised Land, but she and her son were rebellious, as were the Israelites when they got to the border of the Promised Land.  Hagar and Ishmael ultimately were sent into the wilderness.  Similarly, the Israelites were sent into the wilderness of captivity by the Assyrians in 740 BC and Babylonians in 586 BC.

Abraham’s second son Isaac by Sarah, his wife from Babylon of Mesopotamia, lived in the Promised Land.  Likewise in day/age 4, a remnant of Israelites returned from captivity to live in the Promised Land.  Isaac was circumcised, and similarly foreign flesh (i.e., wives) was removed from the congregation of returning Israelites.

Then Ezra the priest stood up and said to them, “You have been unfaithful and have married foreign wives adding to the guilt of Israel.  Now, therefore, make confession to the LORD God of your fathers, and do His will; and separate yourselves from the people of the land and from the foreign wives.”  Then all the assembly answered and said with a loud voice, “That’s right!  As you have said, so it is our duty to do.”  Ezra 10:10-12  NASB

Of course, Abraham’s test of sacrificing Isaac is suggestive of the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross.

After Sarah’s death, Abraham took a new wife, Keturah from the Promised Land.

Now Abraham took another wife, whose name was Keturah.  And she bore to him Zimran and Jokshan and Medan and Midian and Ishbak and Shuah.  Genesis 25:1-2  NASB

Keturah, who produced six sons for Abraham, is an indication of a new source of children for God Almighty.  Six, the number of sons, is suggestive of all humanity receiving the blessing of God Almighty through Abraham’s seed.  Hence, Keturah and her sons suggest the church era of spiritual day/age 5.

Many scriptures describe aspects of God Almighty’s plan for the restoration of humanity to Himself, while others are a type for a particular event.  These glimpses of past and future events are scattered throughout the Bible and are in need of organization into a coherent, chronological pattern that accurately represents God Almighty’s plan of restoration beyond the apostolic church.  Divinely, there is an outline of the spiritual progression of humanity–past, present, and future—embedded in the Old Testament.  Specifically, the first portion of the lives of Abram/Abraham and Sarai/Sarah provides a pattern for the biblical history from Eden through the entire Old Testament.  The conception and birth of Abram/Abraham’s sons are patterns for the conception and birth of John the Baptist and Jesus.  The attempted sacrifice of the promised son Isaac is an obvious point of synchronization with the sacrifice of the promised son, Jesus.  Thereafter, Isaac, Jacob/Israel, Joseph, and the Israelites in the wilderness after the exodus provide a pattern for the church era of spiritual day/age 5.  The story of the Israelites from before the settling of the Promised Land to the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD provides an outline of the spiritual future of humanity as it moves toward full restoration.

The following tables display sequential events in the lives of Abram/Abraham and Sarai/Sarah as a pattern for the biblical history of humanity during spiritual day/ages 2 and 3, that is, from the garden of Eden to the captivity of the Israelites/Judeans in Babylon.  Through the upcoming chapters, we will carefully synchronize the continuation of this pattern with historical events from spiritual day/ages 4 and 5 in order to build confidence in what this pattern projects for spiritual day/ages 5, 6, and 7.  Of course, oldest dates are approximate.

  During spiritual day/age 1 and before the time of humanity, God Almighty created the two spiritual kingdoms.

“to open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the dominion of Satan to God, in order that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who have been sanctifies by faith in Me.”  Acts 26:18  NASB

For He delivered us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son.  Colossians 1:13  NASB

The history of humanity begins in spiritual day/age 2, and Abram and Sarai are a pattern for the man Adam and the woman in the garden of Eden.

Both of these couples began life in a place described by the Tigris and Euphrates rivers.  As the pattern, Abram and Sarai were from Ur of the Chaldeans, which is located near the Tigris and Euphrates rivers.

And Joshua said to all the people, “This is what the LORD God of Israel says: Long ago your ancestors, Terah and his sons Abraham and Nahor, lived on the other side of the Euphrates River and served other gods.”  Joshua 24:2  GOD’S WORD

The garden in which the man Adam and the woman were placed is described by these two rivers.

Now a river flowed out of Eden to water the garden; and from there it divided and became four rivers.  …  And the name of the third river is Tigris; it flows east of Assyria.  And the fourth river is the Euphrates.  Genesis 2:10,14  NASB

Both of these couples were brother and sister.  As the pattern, Abram and Sarai were brother and sister with the same father.

“Besides, she [Sarai] actually is my sister, the daughter of my father, but not the daughter of my mother, and she became my wife;”  Genesis 20:12  NASB

It is difficult to describe the kin relationship between the man Adam and the woman because they are without natural parents.  However, both were created by God Almighty, who was their Father.

So the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and he slept; then He took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh at that place.  And the LORD God fashioned into a woman the rib which He had taken from the man, and brought her to the man.  Genesis 2:21-22  NASB

Each of these men took his sister as his wife.  As the pattern, Abram took Sarai, his half-sister, for his wife.

“Besides, she [Sarai] actually is my sister, the daughter of my father, but not the daughter of my mother, and she became my wife;”  Genesis 20:12  NASB

The man Adam took his “sister” the woman Eve as his wife.

Now the man had relations with his wife Eve, and she conceived and gave birth to Cain, and she said, “I have gotten a manchild with the help of the LORD.”  Genesis 4:1  NASB

For both of these pairs, death came in the presence of the father.  As the pattern, Haran died in the presence of his father.

Now these are the records of the generations of Terah.  Terah became the father of Abram, Nahor and Haran; and Haran became the father of Lot.  And Haran died in the presence of his father Terah in the land of his birth, in Ur of the Chaldeans.  Genesis 11:27-28  NASB

In the presence of his Father, the man Adam sinned and brought death.

… and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate.  Genesis 3:6  NASB

Nevertheless death reigned from Adam until Moses, even over those who had not sinned in the likeness of Adam’s offense, who is a type of Him who was to come.  Romans 5:14  NASB

Both of these couples are led by their father to settle in a different place.  As the pattern, Abram and Sarai were led by their father to a new city.

And Terah took Abram his son, and Lot the son of Haran, his grandson, and Sarai his daughter-in-law, his son Abram’s wife; and they went out together from Ur of the Chaldeans. . .  Genesis 11:31  NASB

The man Adam and the woman Eve were sent out of the realm of the garden by their Father to the realm of darkness.

therefore the LORD God sent him out from the garden of Eden, to cultivate the ground from which he was taken.  Genesis 3:23  NASB

Each of these family groups fell short of the goal.  Abram and Sarai settled in a land other than Canaan.

. . .  in order to enter the land of Canaan; and they went as far as Haran, and settled there.  Genesis 11:31  NASB

The descendants of the man Adam and the woman Eve fell short of the goal of God Almighty.

Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.  And the LORD was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart.  …  Now the earth was corrupt in the sight of God, and the earth was filled with violence.  Genesis 6:5-6,11  NASB

Men were called by God Almighty to leave behind their former life and start a journey with their immediate family.  As the pattern, Abram was called to leave his relatives in the old country and to settle a new land.

Now the LORD said to Abram, / “Go forth from your country / And from your relatives / And from your father’s house,  / To the land which I will show you;”  Genesis 12:1  NASB

Noah was called to build the means to escape from and leave behind the corrupt earth.

Then God said to Noah, “The end of all flesh has come before Me; for the earth is filled with violence because of them; and behold, I am about to destroy them with the earth.  Make for yourself an ark of gopher wood; you shall make the ark with rooms, and shall cover it inside and out with pitch.  …  And behold, I, even I am bringing the flood of water upon the earth, to destroy all flesh in which is the breath of life, from under heaven; everything that is on the earth shall parish.   But I will establish My covenant with you; and you shall enter the ark–you and your sons and your wife, and your sons’ wives with you.”  Genesis 6:13-14,17-18  NASB

The flood marks the transition from spiritual day/age 2 to day/age 3.

Both families settle in a new land after their journey.  As a pattern, Abram took all his possessions and traveled to the land of Canaan.

And Abram took Sarai his wife and Lot his nephew, and all their possessions which they had accumulated, and the persons which they had acquired in Haran, and they set out for the land of Canaan; thus they came to the land of Canaan.  Genesis 12:5  NASB

Noah and his family settled a new earth cleansed by the flood.

Now it came about in the six hundred and first year [of Noah’s life], in the first month, on the first day of the month, the water was dried up from the earth.  Then Noah removed the covering of the ark, and looked, and behold, the surface of the ground was dried up.  …  So Noah went out, and his sons and his wife and his sons’ wives with him.  Genesis 8:13,18  NASB

Both men immediately built an altar to God Almighty to thank Him for their new land.  As a pattern, Abram built an altar to God Almighty when he saw the land that God Almighty had for him.

And the LORD appeared to Abram and said, “To your descendants I will give this land.”  So he built an altar there to the LORD who had appeared to him.  Genesis 12:7  NASB

Noah built an altar when he and his family left the ark.

Then Noah built an altar to the LORD, and took of every clean animal and every clean bird and offered burnt offerings on the altar.  Genesis 8:20  NASB

God Almighty promised a great nation of descendants who will be a blessing.  As a pattern, God Almighty made a promise to Abram.

“And I will make you a great nation, And I will bless you, And make your name great; And so you shall be a blessing; And I will bless those who bless you, And the one who curses you I will curse.  And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”  Genesis 12:2-3  NASB

We move forward in history past Noah to the time of Abraham’s son Isaac.  God Almighty made this same promise to Abraham’s son Isaac and Isaac’s son Jacob.  Here is the promise to Isaac.

And the LORD appeared to him [Isaac] and said, “Do not go down to Egypt; stay in the land of which I shall tell you.  Sojourn in this land and I will be with you and bless you, for to you and to your descendants I will give all these lands, and I will establish the oath which I swore to your father Abraham.  And I will multiply your descendants as the stars of heaven, and will give your descendants all these lands; and by your descendants all the nations of the earth shall be blessed;”  Genesis 26:2-4  NASB

After receiving the promise, both Abram and Isaac pitched their tents and built an altar to God Almighty.  As a pattern, Abram pitched his tent, built an altar, and called upon the name of the Lord.

Then he proceeded from there to the mountain on the east of Bethel, and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east; and there he built an altar to the LORD and called upon the name of the LORD.  Genesis12:8  NASB

Isaac pitched his tent, built an altar, and called upon the name of the Lord.

And the LORD appeared to him [Isaac] the same night and said, “I am the God of your father Abraham; Do not fear, for I am with you.  I will bless you, and multiply your descendants, For the sake of My servant Abraham.”  So he built an altar there, and called upon the name of the LORD, and pitched his tent there; and there Isaac’s servants dug a well.  Genesis 26:24-25  NASB

The patriarchs went down to Egypt because of a severe famine.  As a pattern, Abram and clan went down to dwell in Egypt during a severe famine.

Now there was a famine in the land; so Abram went down to Egypt to sojourn there, for the famine was severe in the land.  Genesis 12:10  NASB

We move forward in history to Jacob/Israel.  Jacob/Israel and family went down to dwell in Egypt because of a severe famine in all the earth.

And the people of all the earth came to Egypt to buy grain from Joseph, because the famine was severe in all the earth.  Genesis 41:57  NASB Then Jacob arose from Beersheba; and the sons of Israel carried their father Jacob and their little ones and their wives, in the wagons which Pharaoh had sent to carry him.  And they took their livestock and their property, which they had acquired in the land of Canaan, and came to Egypt, Jacob and all his descendants with him:  his sons and his grandsons with him, his daughters and his granddaughters, and all his descendants he brought with him to Egypt.  Genesis 46:5-7  NASB

These foreigners were forced into service by Pharaoh.  As a pattern, Sarai was taken into the house of Pharaoh.

And Pharaoh’s officials saw her [Sarai] and praised her to Pharaoh; and the woman was taken into Pharaoh’s house.  Genesis 12:15  NASB

We now move forward in history to the time of the exodus.  Descendants of Jacob/Israel’s clan were forced into Pharaoh’s service.

And the Egyptians compelled the sons of Israel to labor rigorously; and they make their lives bitter with hard labor in mortar and bricks and at all kinds of labor in the field, all their labors which they rigorously imposed on them.  Exodus 1:13-14  NASB

Because of these foreigners in Egypt, plagues come upon Egypt.  As a pattern, plagues came upon Pharaoh and his house because Pharaoh held Sarai in his harem.

But the LORD struck Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai, Abram’s wife.  Genesis 12:17  NASB

Because Pharaoh denied Moses’ request to let the Israelites go worship, God Almighty brought plagues upon Pharaoh and the land of Egypt.

Then the LORD said to Moses, “Rise up early in the morning and stand before Pharaoh and say to him, ‘Thus says the LORD, God of the Hebrews, “Let My people go, that they may serve Me. For this time I will send all My plagues on you and your servants and your people, so that you may know that there is no one like Me in all the earth.” ’ ”  Exodus 9:13-14  NASB

The foreigners received gifts from the Egyptians.  As a pattern, Abram and Sarai received gifts from Pharaoh.

Therefore he treated Abram well for her sake; and gave him sheep and oxen and donkeys and male and female servants and female donkeys and camels.  Genesis 12:16  NASB

The Israelites received gifts from the Egyptians.

Now the sons of Israel had done according to the word of Moses, for they requested from the Egyptians articles of silver and articles of gold, and clothing; and the Lord had given the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they let them have their request.  Thus they plundered the Egyptians.  Exodus 12:35-36  NASB

After the plagues, God Almighty’s people are sent away.  As a pattern, Pharaoh sent Abram and Sarai out of Egypt with all their possessions.

And Pharaoh commanded his men concerning him; and they escorted him away, with his wife and all that belonged to him.  So Abram went up from Egypt to the Negev, he and his wife and all that belonged to him; and Lot with him.  Genesis 12:20-13:1  NASB

After the final plague of the death of the first-born of the Egyptians, Pharaoh sent Moses and all the Israelites out of Egypt with all their possessions.

Then he [Pharaoh] called for Moses and Aaron at night and said, “Rise up, get out from among my people, both you and the sons of Israel; and go, worship the LORD, as you have said.  Take both your flocks and your herds, as you have said, and go, and bless me also.”  Exodus 12:31-32  NASB

Those who were together in Egypt separate after coming out of Egypt.  As a pattern, Abram and his nephew Lot separated, and Abram remained in the hills and mountains.

So Lot chose for himself all the valley of the Jordan; and Lot journeyed eastward.  Thus they separated from each other.  Abram settled in the land of Canaan, while Lot settled in the cities of the valley, and moved his tents as far as Sodom.  Genesis 13:11-12  NASB

Moses and his brother Aaron were separated when Moses went upon the mountain of God Almighty.

Now the LORD said to Moses, “Come up to Me on the mountain and remain there, and I will give you the stone tablets with the law and the commandment which I have written for their instruction.”  So Moses arose with Joshua his servant, and Moses went up to the mountain of God.  But to the elders he said, “Wait here for us until we return to you.  And Behold, Aaron and Hur are with you; whoever has a legal matter, let him approach them.”  Then Moses went up the mountain, and the cloud covered the mountain.  Exodus 24:12-15  NASB

While the pairs were separated, one was overcome by the enemy.  As a pattern, Lot was taken captive by attaching forces.

And they [the attaching forces] also took Lot, Abram’s nephew, and his possessions and departed, for he was living in Sodom.  Genesis 14:12  NASB

Aaron, Moses’ brother, was taken into idolatry by the Israelite congregation who were overcome by ungodliness.

Now when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down from the mountain, the people assembled about Aaron, and said to him, “Come, make us a god who will go before us; as for this Moses, the man who brought us up from the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.”  And Aaron said to them, “Tear off the gold rings which are in the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me.”  …  And he took this from their hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool, and made it into a molten calf; and they said, “This is your god, O Israel, who brought you up from the land of Egypt.”  Now when Aaron saw this, he built an altar before it; and Aaron made proclamation and said, “Tomorrow shall be a feast to the LORD.”  Exodus 32:1-2,4-5  NASB

Troops were gathered for a rescue.  As a pattern, Abram gathered troops and set out to rescue Lot.

And when Abram heard that his relative had been taken captive, he led out his trained men, born in his house, three hundred and eighteen, and went in pursuit as far as Dan.  Genesis 14:14  NASB

Moses gathered troops to rescue Aaron and the people from their idol worship.

Now when Moses saw that the people were out of control–for Aaron had let them get out of control to be a derision among their enemies–then Moses stood in the gate of the camp, and said, “Whoever is for the LORD, come to me!”  And all the sons of Levi gathered together to him.  Exodus 32:25-26  NASB

The rescuers defeated the enemy.  As a pattern, Abram defeated the enemy and rescued Lot, his clan, and his possessions.

And he divided his forces against them by night, he and his servants, and defeated them, and pursued them as far as Hobah, which is north of Damascus.  And he brought back all the goods, and also brought back his relative Lot with his possessions, and also the women, and the people.  Genesis 14:15-16  NASB

Moses’ troops defeated the ungodly and rescued the Israelite congregation from ungodliness.

And he said to them, “Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, ‘Every man of you put his sword upon his thigh, and go back and forth from gate to gate in the camp, and kill every man his brother, and every man his friend, and every man his neighbor.’ ”   So the sons of Levi did as Moses instructed, and about three thousand men of the people fell that day.  Exodus 32:27-28  NASB

Immediately after this crisis, the rescuer met someone special.  As a pattern, Abram met with Melchizedek.

Then after his return from the defeat of Chedorlaomer and the kings who were with him, the king of Sodom went out to meet him at the valley of Shaveh, (that is, the Kings’ Valley).  And Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine; now he was a priest of God Most High. Genesis 14:17-18  NASB

Moses met God Almighty upon the mountain.

And it came about on the next day that Moses said to the people, “You yourselves have committed a great sin; and now I am going up to the LORD, perhaps I can make atonement for your sin.”  Then Moses returned to the LORD, and said, “Alas, this people has committed a great sin, and they have made a god of gold for themselves.  Exodus 32:30-31  NASB

The rescuers made a special offering to the distinguished person.  As a pattern, Abram offered 1/10th of all the spoils of battle to Melchizedek.

And he [Melchezidek] blessed him and said, “Bless be Abram of God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth; And blessed be God Most High, Who has delivered your enemies into your hand.”  And he [Abram] gave him [Melchezidek] a tenth of all.  Genesis 14:19-20  NASB

Moses offered his life for those who had sinned against God Almighty.

“But now, if Thou wilt, forgive their sin–and if not, please blot me out from Thy book which Thou has written!”  And the LORD said to Moses, “Whoever has sinned against Me, I will blot him out of My book.  But go now, lead the people where I told you.  Behold My angel shall go before you; nevertheless in the day when I punish, I will punish them for their sin.”  Exodus 32:32-34  NASB

The elders of these groups were rebellious and remained in the wilderness.  The elder son of Abraham, born of an Egyptian, was rebellious and lived in the wilderness.

The angel of the LORD said to her [Hagar] further,  “Behold, you are with child, / And you shall bear a son; / And you shall call his name Ishmael, / Because the LORD has given heed to your affliction. / And he will be a wild donkey of a man, / His hand will be against everyone, / And everyone’s hand will be against him; / And he will live to the east of all his brothers.”  Genesis 16:11-12  NASB

And these are the years of the life of Ishmael, one hundred and thirty-seven years; and he breathed his last and died, and was gathered to his people.  And they settled from Havilah to Shur which is east of Egypt as one goes toward Assyria; he settled in defiance of all his relatives.  Genesis 25:17-18  NASB

The elder generation of Israelites, raised in Egypt, was rebellious and died in the wilderness.

“According to the number of days which you spied out the land, forty days, for every day you shall bear your guilt a year, even forty years, and you shall know my opposition.  I the LORD have spoken, surely this I will do to all this evil congregation who are gathering together against Me.  In this wilderness they shall be destroyed, and there they shall die.”  Numbers 14:34-35  NASB

A son was promised.  Abraham was promised a son by Sarah.

But God said, “No but Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac; …”  Genesis 17:19  NASB

The prophets of the Israelites told of the coming of a messiah.  Many of these prophecies are noted at the end of this chapter, but here is a well known prophecy.

“Therefore the LORD Himself will give you a sign: Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel.  Isaiah 7:14

There were pleas to escape God Almighty’s judgment.  Abraham pleaded for the escape of Lot and family from the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah.

Then the men turned away from there and went toward Sodom, while Abraham was still standing before the LORD.  And Abraham came near and said, “Wilt Thou indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked?”  Genesis 18:22-23  NASB

Over time, the Israelites were separated into the two kingdoms of Israel (ten tribes) and Judah (two tribes).  Both of these kingdoms became evil in the sight of God Almighty.

Yet the LORD warned Israel and Judah, through all His prophets and every seer, saying, “Turn from your evil ways and keep My commandments, My statutes according to all the law which I commanded your fathers, and which I sent to you through My servants the prophets.”  However, they did not listen, but stiffened their neck like their fathers, who did not believe in the LORD their God  2Kings 17:13-14  NASB

Prophets pleaded with the Israelites to repent in order to prevent destruction.  Here is one example.

Thou dost meet him who rejoices in doing righteousness,  /  Who remembers Thee in Thy ways.  /  Behold, Thou wast angry, for we sinned,  /  We continued in them a long time;  /  And shall we be saved?   …  Do not be angry beyond measure, O LORD,  /  Neither remember iniquity forever;  /  Behold, look now, all of us are Thy people.  …  Wilt Thou restrain Thyself at these things, O LORD?  /  Wilt Thou keep silent and afflict us beyond measure?  Isaiah  64:5,9,12  NASB

There was destruction of the land of the unrighteous.  Lot’s city was destroyed.

Then the LORD rained on Sodom and Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the LORD out of heaven, and He overthrew those cities, and all the valley, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and what grew on the ground.  Genesis 19:24-25  NASB

Around the year 720 BC, the northern kingdom of Israel was conquered by the Neo-Assyrians and dispersed into Asia.

Then the king of Assyria carried Israel away into exile to Assyria, and put them in Halah and on the Habor, the river of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes, because they did not obey the voice of the LORD their God, but transgressed His covenant, even all that Moses the servant of the LORD commanded; they would neither listen, or do it.  2Kings 18:11-12  NASB

With no homeland, there was dislocation.  Lot and his daughters went into the wilderness and lived in a cave.

And Lot went up from Zoar, and stayed in the mountains, and his two daughters with him; for he was afraid to stay in Zoar; and he stayed in a cave, he and his daughters.  Genesis 19:30  NASB

The ten tribes of the northern kingdom were dispersed among the Assyrian empire of Asia Minor. So the LORD was very angry with Israel, and removed them from His sight; none was left except the tribe of Judah.  …  And the sons of Israel walked in all the sins of Jeroboam which he did; they did not depart from them, until the LORD removed Israel from His sight, as He spoke through all His servants the prophets.  So Israel was carried away into exile from their own land to Assyria until this day.  2Kings 17:18,22-23  NASB

Each suffers captivity.  Sarah is taken from Abraham.

Now Abraham journeyed from there toward the land of the Negev, and settled between Kadesh and Shur; then he sojourned in Gerar.  And Abraham said of Sarah his wife, “She is my sister.”  So Abimelech king of Gerar sent and took Sarah.  Genesis 20:1-2  NASB

There is conquest of Jerusalem and the southern kingdom of Judah by the Babylonians in 586 BC, just as there had been for the kingdom of Israel.  Judeans were taken captive to Babylon and a significant Jewish presence remained in the Babylon region until the 13^th centenary AD.

Now on the seventh day of the fifth month, which was the nineteenth year of King Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard, a servant of the king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem.  And he burned the house of the LORD, the king’s house, and all the houses of Jerusalem; even every great house he burned with fire.  2Kings 25:8-9  NASB

O mountain of Mine in the countryside,  /  I will give over your wealth and all your treasures for booty,  /  Your high places for sin throughout your borders,  /  And you will, even of yourself, let go of your inheritance  /  That I gave you;  /  And I will make you serve your enemies  /  In the land which you do not know;  /  For you have kindled a fire in My anger  /  Which will burn forever.  Jeremiah 17:3-4  NASB

Ezekiel, the prophet of the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple, told of the withdrawal of God Almighty’s glory from the cherubim in the temple.

Then the glory of the God of Israel went up from the cherub on which it had been, to the threshold of the temple.  …  Ezekiel 9:3  NASB

Then the glory of the LORD departed from the threshold of the temple and stood over the cherubim.  When the cherubim departed, they lifted their wings and rose up from the earth in my sight with the wheels beside them; and they stood at the entrance of the east gate of the LORD’s house.  And the glory of the God of Israel hovered over them.  Ezekiel  10:18-19  NASB

Then the cherubim lifted up their wings with the wheels beside them, and the glory of the God of Israel hovered over them.  And the glory of the LORD went up from the midst of the city, and stood over the mountain which is east of the city.  Ezekiel  11:22-23  NASB

Along with the removal of God Almighty’s glory from over the ark in the Holy of Holies, the ark itself disappeared with the destruction of the temple and Jerusalem.

Thus, at the end of spiritual day/age 3, the entirety of the Promised Land had been invaded and conquered, and the two kingdoms of the Israelites had been decimated.  Jerusalem and the temple built by Solomon had been destroyed, and there is no significant presence of Israelites in the Promised Land.  Some Israelites had been taken into captivity in Babylon.

We will use the patriarchs and the Israelites as a pattern for the spiritual progression of humanity for each of the upcoming spiritual day/ages, and this pattern will prove vital when consideration moves past history recorded in scripture.

The lives of Abram and Sarai as a pattern for biblical history began with Abram and Sarai as a pattern for the man Adam and the woman in the garden.  We add more detail to this association of couples by showing, in the following table, that the conception of Abram’s first son is a pattern for the original sin in the garden.

God Almighty blessed both men with a large body of descendants.  God Almighty blessed Abram.

“And I will make you a great nation, And I will bless you, And make your name great; And so you shall be a blessing;”  Genesis 12:2  NASB

God Almighty blessed the man Adam.

And God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”  Genesis 1:28  NASB

God Almighty brought both couples to a special place.  God Almighty instructed Abram to leave his country and to go to the Promised Land, to the land which He would show him.

And Abram took Sarai his wife and Lot his nephew, and all their possessions which they had accumulated, and the persons which they had acquired in Haran, and they set out for the land of Canaan; thus they came to the land of Canaan.  Genesis 12:5  NASB

God Almighty put the man Adam in the garden of Eden, and the woman joined him there.

And the LORD God planted a garden toward the east, in Eden, and there He placed the man whom He had formed.  Genesis 2:8  NASB

Because of denial of food, both Sarai and the woman encountered a new ruler.  Because famine denied them food, Abram took his household to Egypt, the land of Pharaoh.

Now there was a famine in the land; so Abram went down to Egypt to sojourn there, for the famine was severe in the land.  Genesis 12:10  NASB

The woman in the garden had a discussion with Satan about denial of food.

Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field which the Lord God made.  And he said to the woman, “Indeed, has God said, ‘You shall not eat from any tree of the garden’ ?”  Genesis 3:1  NASB

For both couples, the current circumstance could be deadly.  For Abram and Sarai, knowledge of their marriage could bring death.

And it came about when he came near to Egypt, that he said to Sarai his wife, “See now, I know that you are a beautiful woman; and it will come about when the Egyptians see you, that they will say, ‘This is his wife’; and they will kill me, but they will let you live.”  Genesis 12:11-12  NASB

For the couple in the garden, eating of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil would bring death.

And the woman said to the serpent, “From the fruit of the trees of the garden we many eat; but from the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat from it or touch it, lest you die.’ ”  Genesis 3:2-3  NASB

A lie offered both couples life rather than death.  For Abram and Sarai, denial of their marriage would bring life rather than death for Abram.

“Please say that you are my sister so that it may go well with me because of you, and that I may live on account of you.”  Genesis 12:13  NASB

For the couple in the garden, Satan offered the lie of life rather than death as the consequence of eating the fruit of the forbidden tree.

And the serpent said to the woman, “You surely shall not die!”  Genesis 3:4  NASB

Both women felt deprived by God Almighty and acted upon the desire to obtain that which they perceived God Almighty was withholding.  After leaving Egypt, Sarai expressed her feeling that God Almighty had withheld children from her.

So Sarai said to Abram, “Now behold, the LORD has prevented me from bearing children, Please go in to my maid; perhaps I shall obtain children through her.”  And Abram listened to the voice of Sarai.  Genesis 16:2  NASB

The woman in the garden was deceived by Satan with the idea that God Almighty was preventing her from having something desirable.

“For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”  Genesis 3:5  NASB

Each man listened to his wife.  Abram listened to his wife.

So Sarai said to Abram, “Now behold, the LORD has prevented me from bearing children, Please go in to my maid; perhaps I shall obtain children through her.”  And Abram listened to the voice of Sarai.  Genesis 16:2  NASB

Likewise, the man Adam listened to the woman.

Then to Adam He said, “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife [the woman],  …  Genesis 3:17  NASB

Each of the women gave to their man that which came from the encounter with the ruler.  Sarai gave to Abram the maid whom she had received from Pharaoh.

And after Abram had lived ten years in the land of Canaan, Abram’s wife Sarai took Hagar the Egyptian, her maid, and gave her to her husband Abram as wife.  Genesis 16:3  NASB

Similarly, the woman, after her encounter with Satan, gave the “forbidden fruit” to the man Adam.

When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband [the man] with her, and he ate. Genesis 3:6  NASB

Both men acted upon the woman’s suggestion.  Abram, at the urging of Sarai, took the Egyptian maid as wife.

And he went in to Hagar, and she conceived;  …  Genesis 16:4  NASB

The man Adam, at the urging of the woman, also ate of the “forbidden fruit”.

… and she gave also to her husband [the man] with her, and he ate.  Genesis 3:6  NASB

From our discussion of the original sin in the last chapter (Section 2.6), the statement that the first couple ate the fruit of the forbidden tree is not the sin itself, but a symbolic notation that sin had occurred.

Blame is passed between each of the couples.  Abram and Sarai blame each other.

And Sarai said to Abram, “May the wrong done me be upon you.  I gave my maid into your arms; but when she saw that she had conceived, I was despised in her sight.  May the LORD judge between you and me.”  But Abram said to Sarai, “Behold, your maid is in your power; do to her what is good in your sight.”  So Sarai treated her harshly, and she fled from her presence.  Genesis 16:5-6  NASB

The man Adam and the woman pass blame.

And the man said, “The woman whom Thou gavest to be with me, she gave me from the tree, and I ate.”  Then the LORD God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?”  And the woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”  Genesis 3:12-13  NASB

There is a dislocation for each couple.  The Egyptian maid was driven out of Abram’s household.

But Abram said to Sarai, “Behold, your maid is in your power; do to her what is good in your sight.”  So Sarai treated her harshly, and she fled from her presence.  Genesis 16:6  NASB

The first couple was driven out of the garden.

So He drove the man out; and at the east of the garden of Eden He stationed the cherubim, and the flaming sword which turned every direction, to guard the way to the tree of life.  Genesis 3:24  NASB

Thus, events leading to the conception of Abram’s first-born son are a pattern for the original sin in the garden of Eden.

The association established between couples links Sarai’s desire for a child to Satan’s temptation of the woman.  Does Sarai’s desire for a child (Gen 16:2) represent the same desire for the woman in the garden?  Could it be that the desirable aspects of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, made known to the woman by Satan, relate to the woman’s maternal instincts?  We have already seen that part of Satan’s deception of the woman was the idea the God Almighty was withholding something from her (Gen 3:5).  The following excerpt offers a plausible elaboration of the woman’s motivation to disobey.

The serpent, a phallic symbol and fertility idol in cultures across the world, is a reflection of the sexual yearnings stirring in the woman’s body and soul.  … 

Embedded in this charming allegory of sexual awakening is the gap between the female and male sexual response. Woman’s arousal is gradual and internal, enlisting all her senses and emotions, as described in Eve’s deliberations before tasting the fruit. We imagine the process she goes through before she is persuaded to take the ultimate step. “And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food and that it was a delight to the eye, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and did eat,” the Bible says. The procreative drive has been awakened and overwhelms all other considerations. For the woman, the consequences of a sexual relationship can be much more serious than for the man. She is the one who becomes pregnant. Her decision is therefore slower and more deliberate than the man’s.

Eve reaches out to Adam, holding the fruit. In contrast to the female, the male is immediately susceptible to any sexual invitation.  Observing the ease with which man accepts the forbidden fruit, woman has already learned that man succumbs easily to sexual temptation. The female ignites the flame of his desire by her mere presence or through the subtlest of means—a smile, flattery, the offering of an apple—and the male is immediately seduced.  After the Apple: Women in the Bible: Timeless Stories of Love, Lust, and Longing by Naomi Harris Rosenblatt (Miramax Books, 2005)

Furthermore, there are several other circumstances of the original sin which are consistent with and support the idea that the first couple’s sin was an effort to produce offspring.  Satan initiated the disobedience of the first couple, and, as a consequence of their sin, humanity became slaves to Satan because human reproduction populates and perpetuates Satan’s kingdom.  Here then we have an obvious motivation for Satan to tempt the original couple to disobey.

In the discussion in the last chapter (Section 2.6), we indicated that the woman enticed the man Adam with Satan’s suggestion that he would become like the Most High (Ezekiel 28:2, p. 5-6).  Isaiah 14 tells us the man Adam wanted to assert his will rather than follow the will of God Almighty.  One way that the man Adam could make himself like the Most High, the Creator of life, would be if he were to produce human life through offspring.  With such an attitude, the man Adam would be immediately susceptible to such a suggestion from the woman.  Abram partnering with Hagar to produce offspring corresponds to the man Adam “eating the fruit.”  Note in the telling of the original sin that when the man Adam was disobedient and sinned, it was in a partnership with the woman.

and she gave also to her husband with her and he ate.  Genesis 3:6  NASB

Abram taking Hagar the Egyptian as a mate was not expressly prohibited by God Almighty and was acceptable within the cultural mores of that time.  However, it is clear that the effort by Abram, Sarai, and Hagar to produce an heir for Abram was not according to God Almighty’s time-table, but was a selfish, fleshly attempt to acquire that which God Almighty had promised to Abram.

For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by the bondwoman and one by the free woman.  But the son by the bondwoman was born according to the flesh, and the son by the free woman through the promise.  Galatians 4:22-23  NASB

Similarly, the couple in the garden acted according to the flesh when they, disregarding God Almighty’s commandments, fulfilled their desire for input from the physical.

When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise,  …   Genesis 3:6  NASB

That is, eating the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, as suggested by Satan, was to choose life with heightened input from the physical or fleshly realm.

God Almighty had given the man Adam and the woman the command to be fruitful and multiply (Gen 1:28), so why would an attempt to produce offspring be a sin before God Almighty?  We get insight that it might be disobedience from the story of Jacob/Israel, a grandson of Abram/Abraham.  Jacob left his parents to go to his relatives to find a wife.  With his uncle Laban, Jacob arranged a “bride price,” which was seven years of labor, for marriage to Laban’s daughter Rachel.  Thus betrothed, Jacob and Rachel could not consummate the marriage until Jacob provided payment of the “bride price.”  After seven years, when the price for the bride had been paid in full, there was a gathering to celebrate the consummation of the marriage, at which time Laban betrayed Jacob by substituting daughters.  The salient point is that the betrothed couple could not consummate the marriage until the man had paid in full the price for the bride.

Recall that in our discussion of the garden we mentioned the propensity of translators to use the terms husband and wife rather than man and woman (Section 2.3), thereby implying that “marriage” had occurred.  A precise translation allows the possibility that the first couple might initially have been only betrothed, because there may have been a “bride price” with respect to the couple in the garden.  Before the woman was created, the man Adam was put into the garden of Eden to cultivate it and keep it (Gen 2:15).  Was cultivating and keeping the garden the “bride price” to be paid by the man Adam?  Was consummation of the marriage of the first couple prohibited until fulfillment of the man Adam’s duties, as it was with Jacob/Israel?  Like Abram and Sarai, had the man Adam and the woman grown impatience and frustrated with God Almighty’s timing?  We are not told, but the idea of the husband-to-be having to complete an obligation before consummating the marriage fits the circumstance.

Consequences for the man Adam and the woman following their act of disobedience support the suggested behavior of procreation.  The desire to experience input to the soul from the physical brought the loss of the light-body and resulted in nakedness.

Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loin coverings.  Genesis 3:7  NASB

This contrasts with a description of them before their disobedience, when their nakedness was not an issue nor needed to be covered.

And the man and his wife [the woman] were both naked and were not ashamed.  Genesis 2:25  NASB

Hence, we see that the nakedness of the man Adam and that of the woman had been uncovered by their disobedience.  In the discussion of the story of Noah’s nakedness, we noted that in Leviticus the phrase “uncover nakedness” is a euphemism for sexual relations.  Thus, because the nakedness of both the man Adam and the woman was uncovered, we have an indication through euphemism that their sin was to engage in sexual relations.  So, terminology in the story of the couple in the garden is consistent with what occurred with Abram and Hagar.

In His curses to Satan and the woman, God Almighty made pronouncements about the “seed” or offspring of both Satan and the woman.  In addition, the woman is cursed with discomfort and pain in the female reproductive processes, including child birth.  Thus God Almighty’s curse of the woman is directly related to the suggested act of disobedience.

After Sarai gave Abram the gift from Pharaoh and before the birth of her son, Sarai got a new name.

Then God said to Abraham, “As for Sarai [my princess] your wife, you shall not call her Sarai, but Sarah [Princess] shall be her name.  Genesis 17:15  NASB

Likewise, after the woman gave to the man Adam that which she obtained in the presence of Satan and before the birth of her first child, the woman in the garden got a new name.

Now the man called his wife’s name Eve, because she was the mother of all the living.  Genesis 3:20  NASB

This is the second time that the man named the woman.  After his helpmate was formed from what was taken from his side, the man commemorated, by means of the naming, that which had just happened between them.  If, after their sin, the man gave the woman a new name on the same basis as before, then the new name would commemorate that which had just happened between them.  Accordingly, we get the suggestion that the woman was entitled to be called mother of all the living.

Scripture does not directly state specifics of the first couple’s sin beyond the obvious disobedience, so knowing exactly what happened so long age can only come by divine revelation.  However, there is much in scripture to suggest that the original sin by the man Adam and the woman was premature consummation of their marriage.  There is clear motivation for Satan, for the woman, and for the man Adam to do as suggested.  The concept of bride price provides the possibility that the act of procreation could be premature and thus disobedience.  Immediately after their sin, the man Adam and the woman covered their nakedness, thereby suggesting through euphemism that the man Adam and the woman did attempt to create offspring.  God Almighty’s curses speak of the female reproductive processes, child birth, and offspring, the consequence of the suggested sinful act.  The woman is given a new name that identifies her as the mother of all the living before any mention of a specific offspring.  Hence, we have several indicators which support the suggestion that eating the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil by the woman and the man Adam is symbolic of their premature, and thus sinful, attempt to create human life through offspring.